‘God’ Mentioned Often in State Constitutions

The United States has among the highest percentage of people who believe in God, and that shows in a new study about how often “God” is mentioned in state constitutions. In total, God is mentioned 116 times in state constitutions.

According to the Pew Research Center, all but four states, Colorado, Iowa, Hawaii and Washington, have “God” in their constitutions.

However, those states do mention concepts similar to God. Colorado, Iowa and Washington invoke a “Supreme Being” or “Supreme Ruler of the Universe.” Hawaii mentions that its people are “grateful for Divine Guidance.”

Pew says 34 states mention God more than once, including eight times in Massachusetts and six times each in New Hampshire and Vermont.

“In addition to the 116 mentions of God, there are also 14 mentions of a Supreme or Sovereign Being, seven mentions of the ‘Creator,’ three mentions of ‘providence,’ four mentions of ‘divine’ and 46 instances of the word ‘almighty,’ Pew wrote. “While there are 32 mentions of the word ‘Lord,’ all but one refer to ‘the year of our Lord’ and so are not direct references to God. (Indeed, the U.S. Constitution also makes reference to ‘the year of our Lord.’) There also are seven mentions of the word ‘Christian.’”

Some state constitutions have clauses prohibiting non-believers from holding public office, according to Pew, which added that those clauses have not been enforced recently as they clash with the U.S. Constitution’s ban on religious tests for holding public office.

There are several countries around the world which mention “God” in their constitutions, including Germany, Australia, Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Indonesia and others.